This invention relates to an improved constructional design for golf clubs, and more particularly to an advantageous configuration for attaching a golf club shaft to a putter head.
The game of golf has consumed the weekends and passions of millions of people worldwide for many years, and increasingly so in recent years as its popularity has soared. The reasons for its popularity are legion, and include the beautiful settings in which it is played, the opportunity for leisurely exercise, companionship, and the elusive satisfaction of successfully navigating a small white ball several hundred yards from a golf tee into a small hole, using just a few strokes of a golf club.
While many people spend a great deal of time perfecting their tee shots, hoping to add distance to their drives, it is the putting stroke which usually determines the ultimate success of a golfer. Putting is an uncertain, uncontrolled, and intimidating demand in the game of golf. The reward from putting is often inconsistent with the overall skill and efforts of the player.
The difficulties with current state-of-the-art putters arise because of weight distribution at the putter head, and the fact that the club shaft is typically off-center with respect to the head. This causes a moment about the axis of the shaft when the club is put into motion. To compensate for this, in conventional putters the ends of the club head are often weighted more and various points of attachment between the shaft and the putter head have been tried. The torsional force on the club head as the putter is swung is felt unconsciously by the player, who then involuntarily adjusts his swing and grip to maintain control and to keep the club head square.
Thus, when the putter is moved backward at the start of the swing, the toe end of the putter head tends to remain behind, and conversely, on the beginning of the down swing, it again remains behind. Similarly, at impact with the ball, the putter head again has a tendency to turn or wobble because the weight mass is not at the impact point. This is the basic problem with putter designs, and has never been totally successfully addressed.
Therefore, what is needed is a new design for a golf putter which addresses the problem of weight distribution and generated torsion during the swing of the putter, compensating for the torsional effect by an offsetting moment so that the net effect is a very stable swing and a resultant accurate putt.